Systems and Methods for Visualizing and Manipulating Graph Databases

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for visualizing and manipulating graph databases in accordance embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodiment of the invention, a graph database manipulation device includes a processor and a memory configured to store a graph database manipulation application, wherein the graph database manipulation application configures the processor to obtain a graph database including a set of nodes and a set of edges, determine a source node within the set of nodes, locate a set of related nodes based on the source node and the set of edges, recursively locate a set of sub-related nodes based on the set of related nodes and the set of edges, generate a representation of the set of related nodes from the perspective of the source node, and recursively update the generated representation of the set of sub-related nodes from the perspective of the source node and the related nodes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The current application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/136,426, filed Apr. 22, 2016, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/318,432, filed Jun. 27, 2014, andissued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,348,947 on May 24, 2016, which claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/858,782, filed Jul.26, 2013, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by referencein their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally related to data manipulation and morespecifically the visualization and manipulation of data stored usinggraph databases.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In computing, a graph is an abstract data structure including nodes andedges. A graph contains a set of nodes connected by one or more edges.Values can be associated with the nodes and/or the edges. A graph datastructure is an implementation of the mathematical concept of a graph,which is a representation of a set of objects where some pairs of theobjects are connected by links. Graphs can be undirected, where an edgeindicates a relationship between two nodes within the graph. Graphs canalso be directed, where an edge indicates a relationship between a firstnode and a second node within the graph, but not the correspondingrelationship between the second node and the first node.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Systems and methods for visualizing and manipulating graph databases inaccordance embodiments of the invention are disclosed. In one embodimentof the invention, a graph database manipulation device includes aprocessor and a memory configured to store a graph database manipulationapplication, wherein the graph database manipulation applicationconfigures the processor to obtain a graph database, wherein the graphdatabase includes a set of nodes and a set of edges, wherein an edge ina set of edges defines a relationship between a first node in the set ofnodes and a second node in the set of nodes and an edge includes edgeweight metadata and edge display metadata, wherein the edge displaymetadata describes the spatial relationship between the first node andthe second node, determine a source node within the set of nodes, locatea set of related nodes based on the source node and the set of edges,where a related node in the set of related nodes has an edge in the setof edges indicating a relationship between the related node and thesource node, recursively locate a set of sub-related nodes based on theset of related nodes and the set of edges, where a sub-related node inthe set of sub-related nodes has an edge in the set of edges indicatinga relationship between a related node in the set of related nodes andthe sub-related node, generate a representation of the set of relatednodes from the perspective of the source node, where the representationof a related node in the subset of the set of related nodes is based onthe edge weight metadata and the edge display metadata from the edgedefining the relationship between the particular related node and thesource node, and recursively update the generated representation of theset of sub-related nodes from the perspective of the source node and theset of related nodes, where the representation of a sub-related node inthe set of sub-related nodes within the generated representation isrecursively based on the edge weight metadata and the edge displaymetadata from the edge defining the relationship between the particularsub-related node and its predecessor nodes.

In an additional embodiment of the invention, the system furtherincludes a display device and configured to display a visualization of arepresentation of nodes and edges within the graph database, wherein thegraph database manipulation application further configures the processorto display the generated representation using the display device.

In another embodiment of the invention, the display of the generatedrepresentation further includes performing a recursive shift based onthe relationship between the related nodes in the set of related nodesand the edge display metadata for the subset of edges defining therelationship between pairs of the related nodes in the set of relatednodes.

In yet another additional embodiment of the invention, the display ofthe generated representation further includes performing a recursivetransformation based on the relationship between the related nodes inthe set of related nodes and the edge display metadata for the subset ofedges defining the relationship between pairs of the related nodes inthe set of related nodes.

In still another additional embodiment of the invention, the systemfurther includes an input device configured to receive graphmanipulation data, wherein the graph database manipulation applicationfurther configures the processor to modify the nodes and edges withinthe graph database based on the graph manipulation data and refresh thegenerated representation of the source node and the set of related nodesbased on the modified graph database.

In yet still another additional embodiment of the invention, a nodeincludes permission metadata, where the permission metadata describes aset of nodes that have access to the node and the graph databasemanipulation application further configures the processor to locate theset of related nodes for the source based on the permission metadata forthe nodes in the set of related nodes.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the graph databasemanipulation application further configures the processor to recursivelylocate the sub-related nodes in the set of sub-related nodes based onthe permission data for the sub-related nodes.

In still another embodiment of the invention, the recursive location ofsub-related nodes from a related node further includes receiving a setof related edges from a node having an edge in common with the relatednode based on the permission metadata for the node.

In yet still another embodiment of the invention, the edge weightmetadata is a complex number having a real component and an imaginarycomponent.

In yet another additional embodiment of the invention, the edge weightmetadata represents a property selected from the group consisting of aspatial position, a color, and a size.

In still another additional embodiment of the invention, the meaning ofthe edge weight metadata is based on the generated representation of thenodes associated with the edge including the edge weight metadata.

In yet still another additional embodiment of the invention, therecursive update of the visualized representation is based on anaccumulation of the weights of the sub-related nodes.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, a portion of the edgedisplay metadata is convertible to a binary string.

In still another embodiment of the invention, the edge display metadatadescribes the relative layout of the nodes associated with the edgeincluding the edge display metadata and wherein the generation of therepresentation of the set of related nodes and the set of sub-relatednodes based on the perspective of the source node further includesrecursively calculating the position of the representation of asub-related node based on the edge display metadata for the sub-relatednode and the edge display metadata for nodes within the set of relatednodes that are predecessor nodes to the sub-related node.

In yet still another embodiment of the invention, at least onethird-party node in the set of nodes represents a third-party datasource device and the at least one third-party node includes nodemetadata retrieved from the third-party data source device.

In yet another additional embodiment of the invention, the edge weightmetadata for the edges in the set of edges that are connected to the atleast one third-party node is based on the latency associated withretrieving the node metadata from the third-party data source device.

In still another additional embodiment of the invention, the edge weightmetadata for the edges in the set of edges that are connected to the atleast one third-party node is based on the latency associated withretrieving edge metadata from the third-party data source device.

In yet still another additional embodiment of the invention, the edgedisplay metadata is calculated based on the related nodes and thesub-related nodes.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the display metadataincludes time data describing a time associated with the edge.

In still another embodiment of the invention, the generatedrepresentation includes a historical narrative of the set of nodes basedon the time data.

In yet still another embodiment of the invention, at least one generatedrepresentation includes a partially overlapping subset of at least oneother generated representation.

In yet another additional embodiment of the invention, at least one nodein the set of nodes is configured to execute actions based on a receivedrequest.

In still another additional embodiment of the invention, the receivedrequest includes a request for the set of nodes related to the at leastone node configured to execute actions and the at least one nodeconfigured to execute actions to identify nodes connected to the atleast one node by at least one edge, generate a set of sub-related nodesbased on the identified nodes and edges, where the set of sub-relatednodes includes the sub-related nodes and the edges associated with thesub-related nodes and the at least one node, and transmit a portion ofthe generated set of sub-related nodes based on the received request.

Yet another embodiment of the invention includes method for visualizinggraph databases including obtaining a graph database using a graphdatabase manipulation device, wherein the graph database includes a setof nodes and a set of edges, wherein an edge in a set of edges defines arelationship between a first node in the set of nodes and a second nodein the set of nodes and an edge includes edge weight metadata and edgedisplay metadata, wherein the edge display metadata describes thespatial relationship between the first node and the second node,determining a source node within the set of nodes using the graphdatabase manipulation device, locating a set of related nodes based onthe source node and the set of edges using the graph databasemanipulation device, where a related node in the set of related nodeshas an edge in the set of edges indicating a relationship between therelated node and the source node, recursively locating a set ofsub-related nodes based on the set of related nodes and the set of edgesusing the graph database manipulation device, where a sub-related nodein the set of sub-related nodes has an edge in the set of edgesindicating a relationship between a related node in the set of relatednodes and the sub-related node, generating a representation of the setof related nodes from the perspective of the source node using the graphdatabase manipulation device, where the representation of a related nodein the subset of the set of related nodes is based on the edge weightmetadata and the edge display metadata from the edge defining therelationship between the particular related node and the source node,and recursively updating the generated representation of the set ofsub-related nodes from the perspective of the source node and the set ofrelated nodes using the graph database manipulation device, where therepresentation of a sub-related node in the set of sub-related nodeswithin the generated representation is recursively based on the edgeweight metadata and the edge display metadata from the edge defining therelationship between the particular sub-related node and its predecessornodes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 conceptually illustrates a graph database manipulation system inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 conceptually illustrates a graph database manipulation device inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart conceptually illustrating a process forgenerating a graph database in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart conceptually illustrating a process forrepresenting a graph database from the perspective of a source node inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart conceptually illustrating a process formanipulating a graph database in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart conceptually illustrating a process forapproximating a graph database in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart conceptually illustrating a process forprocessing a node message in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B conceptually illustrate visualizations of arepresentation of a graph database in accordance with embodiments of theinvention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B conceptually illustrate a visualization of arepresentation of a graph database in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIGS. 10A and 10B conceptually illustrate modifications to a generatedrepresentation of a graph database in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual illustration of overlapping nodes withindifferent recursive perspectives in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIGS. 12A-12C are conceptual illustrations of set operations leading tothe partitioning of two clusters in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual illustration of a subgraph interpretable asimage data in one or more perspectives in accordance with an embodimentof the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to the drawings, systems and methods for visualizing andmanipulating graph databases in accordance with embodiments of theinvention are illustrated. Text-based search has enjoyed great successin the last decade, yet paradoxically, it has failed to revolutionizedata driven fields such as medicine. It can be difficult for users toconjure a search term if the user does not know exactly what informationthe user is searching for. Graph databases provide a user an opportunityto explore the relationships within a space of ideas. In this way, graphdatabases provide users with the ability to locate information thatanswers the user's question without having to formulate the search queryto express the question. What is more, a user can encode new informationinto the graph by creating associations, or streamline existinginformation by pruning associations. These manipulations can improve thegraph's usefulness as a record for the same user, and a means of sharinginformation with other users and computational agents that operatewithin the graph.

In a variety of embodiments, the analysis of natural data involveextensive use of set operations, such as but not limited toconcatenating data sets thought to be similar, excluding outlier sets,and taking differences of sets to find exclusive elements. Graphdatabases in accordance with embodiments of the invention facilitate theexecution of these set operations as successors of a node can be the setof its successors. Accordingly, graph database manipulation systemsallow the successors of parent nodes to be combined, differenced, orotherwise manipulated in order to capture the set operations done in theanalysis of naturalistic data. In a number of embodiments, theseoperations can be performed using visualizations of the data, ratherthan by querying the graph database using text-based queries. In severalembodiments, the set of successors of a given node and their own linksto each other encode an entire graph (e.g., a subgraph within the graphdatabase) that has the complete set of attributes (e.g. the nodes,edges, and/or metadata) as any other subgraph within the database aswell as the entire database itself. Accordingly, any operation designedto run on a given subgraph can also run on any other subgraph, therebyproviding a mechanism by which general-purpose operators may be createdand extended across the entire graph database. In this sense, a nodeperspective can extend to not only the immediate sub-nodes, but alsorecursively to their cross-links. In this way, the node perspective canoperate as a fundamental unit of computation within the frameworkprovided by a graph database manipulation system.

Graph database manipulation systems in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention are configured to visualize and manipulate graphdatabases. Graph databases contain a set of nodes defining concepts anda set of edges indicating relationships between pairs of nodes. The datastored within the nodes and/or edges can be locally stored within thegraph database and/or stored on external devices. Graph databasemanipulation devices are configured to generate visualizations (or otherrepresentation) of the graph database from the perspective of one ormore nodes (e.g. source node(s)) within the graph database. The graphdatabase can also be visualized from a point outside of the graph. Inseveral embodiments, the visualization becomes the perspective from anode in a new graph that larger by one node. In a variety ofembodiments, a point outside of the graph corresponds to the perspectiveof a graph database manipulation device with respect to the graphdatabase. The generated representation can be any of a variety ofvisualizations, such as but not limited to a tile-based histogram, apoint cloud, an image, and a node-edge diagram, that can be explored andmanipulated as appropriate to the requirements of specific applicationsin accordance with embodiments of the invention. Once a source node hasbeen selected, related nodes are recursively located within the graphdatabase based on the edges connecting the nodes. The number of relatednodes so viewed can be limited by a preset threshold, determineddynamically by the resolution or readability limits of the system, or byprocessing constraints imposed to maintain the graph databasemanipulation device simultaneously across a network of portals. In avariety of embodiments, the threshold value is based on one or morenodes and/or edges selected within the graph database. The nodes and/oredges can be selected using a variety of techniques as appropriate tothe requirements of specific applications in accordance with embodimentsof the invention, such as receiving a selection of nodes and/or edgesusing an input device configured to receive data indicative of nodeand/or edge selections within a graph database manipulation device. Inseveral embodiments, the nodes and/or edges selected as related nodescan be based on the statistics (e.g. patterns within the relationshipsbetween the nodes and edges from the perspective of the source node) ofthe surrounding data. The visualization of the generated representationincludes a representation of the nodes and the layout and visualappearance of the generated representation can be based on edge weightmetadata and edge display metadata contained in the edges connecting thenodes being visualized. In several embodiments, the threshold value canbe based on the visualized representation of the nodes, e.g. thethreshold can be based on readability metric(s) and/or the amount ofvisualized space the node consumes as displayed using a graph databasemanipulation device. In a variety of embodiments, a one-to-one mappingexists between the edge display metadata and some particular perspectiveof the associated data (e.g. the visualized representation of thatdata). For example, the color of nodes being assigned dynamically fromthe output of a calculation (for example, k-means clustering) on thenode weights in a particular perspective in a particular fashion. In anumber of embodiments, the edge display metadata for any entity withinthe graph (i.e. an edge or a node) can be statically and/or dynamicallygenerated.

Based on the nodes and the edges connecting the nodes, emergent datadescribing the relationships between the nodes can be determined thatprovides additional context and/or description of the nodes and edges.This emergent data can be utilized to provide additional insights intothe data and/or additional visualizations of the graph database, such asby changing the format in which the data are viewed, or the affordancesgiven to the user for manipulating the graph. In several embodiments,manipulating the graph database includes creating, deleting, and/ormodifying links between nodes within the database. In this way, thelinks between the nodes can be utilized to encode processes, workflows,and any other data as appropriate to the requirements of specificapplications of embodiments of the invention. In a variety ofembodiments, a one-to-one mapping between the underlying graph databaseand the visualized representation of the graph database allows for themodifications to the visualized representation to be incorporated intothe underlying graph database. In many embodiments, the emergent dataincludes aggregations of the relationships between the nodes asdescribed by the edges from the perspective of the source node. Inseveral embodiments, time metadata is associated with nodes and/or edgeswithin the graph database. In a number of embodiments, particularly inthose with multiple users, the use of time metadata allows the graphdatabase to be visualized as a historical narrative and/or acommunication system. Additionally, the time metadata can be utilized toimpose ordering and/or sequencing on the visualized representation ofthe graph database, such as when chaining multiple operators together inthe graph that need to act in sequence. However, it should be noted thatany metadata can be associated with the nodes and/or edges that can beused to facilitate the visualization and/or manipulation of graphdatabases as appropriate to the requirements of specific applications ofthe invention.

In a variety of embodiments, the data associated with a node within thegraph database is calculated based on data present within the nodeand/or nodes related to the node within the graph database. Nodemessages can be transmitted between nodes within the database in orderto request additional and/or updated data from the nodes. These messagescan be utilized to facilitate communication between the nodes and/orbetween graph database manipulation devices visualizing (related) graphdatabase(s) as appropriate to the requirements of specific applicationsin accordance with embodiments of the invention. In several embodiments,the nodes are configured to transmit node message responses containingthe data requested in the node message. The processing and response tonode messages can be influenced by permission metadata associated withthe nodes. In this way, nodes within the graph database can be utilizedas computation devices that provide requested data in response to areceived node message.

During the exploration of the graph database, changes can be made to thegenerated representation(s) that can be applied to the nodes and edgeswithin the graph database. In many embodiments, the nodes and/or edgeshave permission metadata describing what data (e.g. the node metadataand/or edges connected to the node) a node and/or edge will provide inthe recursive location and/or modification of the nodes and/or edges.For example, a node can be connected to several related nodes (where thenode metadata for the node is an aggregation of the node metadata forthe related nodes) and the permission metadata for the node will returnthe node metadata but not the edges linking to the related nodes.Permission metadata can be global, based on the source node, and/orbased on the related nodes as appropriate to the requirements ofspecific applications in accordance with embodiments of the invention.The modification of the graph database can respect (or ignore) anypermission metadata associated with the nodes and/or edges asappropriate to the requirements of specific applications in accordancewith embodiments of the invention. The permission metadata can beutilized to implement a security model within the graph database so thatparticular nodes and/or graph database manipulation devices only haveaccess to portions of the data stored within the graph database, whilethe remaining data remains secured away. The security model limits theunauthorized disclosure of potentially sensitive and/or private datathat can be stored within the graph database while keeping the sensitiveand/or private data within the graph database for other allowable uses.For example, a “gateway” node can act as a bottleneck based on itssecurity permissions, providing a limited set of data to the other nodeswithin the graph database while limiting access to potentially sensitivenodes related to the gateway node within the graph database.

In a variety of embodiments, the relationships between the nodes andedges within a graph database can be described using an ontology in thatthe edges represent a relationship between two nodes within the graphdatabase. Graph database manipulation devices are configured to identifyan ontology based on the perspective of a source node within the graphdatabase. That is, the ontology describing the relationships betweennodes and edges within the graph database depends on the source nodeutilized to explore the graph database and/or emergent data determinedbased on the relationships between the nodes from the perspective of thesource node. In this way, the same edges and nodes can indicatedifferent relationships based on the perspective of the node utilized toexplore the graph database. In a number of embodiments, the ontology ofthe graph database can be described locally based on the perspective ofa source node in that the ontology of the graph database in determinedbased on the relationships between the nodes and edges (along with anyemergent data) within the local perspective of the source node.

Although the above is described with respect to a graph having edgesthat connect a pair of nodes, a variety of data structures, includinghypergraphs where edges connect any number of nodes within the graphdatabase, can be utilized as appropriate to the requirements of specificapplications in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Similarly,a variety of graph database visualizations not specifically describedabove can be utilized as appropriate to the requirements of specificapplications in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Systemsand methods for visualizing and manipulating graph databases inaccordance with embodiments of the invention are discussed below.

System Overview

Graph database manipulation systems in accordance with embodiments ofthe system are configured to facilitate the creation, manipulation, andinteraction with graph databases. In a variety of embodiments, graphdatabase manipulation systems include graph database manipulationdevices configured to facilitate this functionality. In severalembodiments, graph database manipulation device includes a processor anda memory configured to store a graph database manipulation application,wherein the graph database manipulation application configures theprocessor to obtain a graph database, wherein the graph databaseincludes a set of nodes and a set of edges, wherein an edge in a set ofedges defines a relationship between a first node in the set of nodesand a second node in the set of nodes, and metadata describing a numericvalue attributed to an edge or node that can be pre-assigned as a staticattribute of the node or edge stored in memory and/or calculated as afunction of the connection patterns of nodes and edges to be foundwithin one or more degrees of separation to the node or edge. In anumber of embodiments, the graph database manipulation applicationfurther configures the processor to determine a source node within theset of nodes, locate a set of related edges connected to the sourcenode, locate the nodes to which those edges in turn connect, and, theabove constituting the perspective of the source node within the graph,whereby the perspective, encodes all edges connected to the source node,encodes all additional nodes connected to these edges, can encoderecursively, in the above manner, all edges and nodes within one or moredegrees of separation from the source node, can extend the aboverecursive encoding, based on the content of the intervening node or edgemetadata, can represent overlapping subsets of node data or metadatawhich can be encoded in other such perspectives, and continuously updatethe above described generated representations of the set of sub relatednodes, edges and metadata from the source node (i.e. the perspective).In several embodiments, the graph database manipulation applicationpermits the creation, deletion, and modification of nodes within thegraph database, edges within the graph database, and metadata within thegraph database, whereby the so created and/or deleted and/or modifiededges and/or metadata will also augment, prune and/or modify therelevant perspective(s) of the graph database.

In a variety of embodiments, graph database manipulation devices alsoinclude a display device and configured to display a visualization of arepresentation of nodes and edges within the graph database, wherein thegraph database manipulation application further configures the processorto display the generated representation using the display device. Inmany embodiments, the display of the generated representation furtherincludes a recursive operation based on the relationship between therelated nodes, edges and metadata, whereby the spatial relationshipbetween a source node to the nodes in its perspective can be representedby a graphical operation, such as a shift, scaling, and/or othermathematical transformation based on intervening edges, nodes andmetadata such that these graphical operations can also be continuedforward recursively to one or more degrees of separation in the graph.In a number of embodiments, graph database manipulation devices alsoinclude input device(s) configured to receive graph manipulation data,wherein the graph database manipulation application further configuresthe processor to modify the nodes and edges within the graph databasebased on the graph manipulation data and in particular modify nodesand/or edges and/or metadata within the graph such that actions taken bythe user are transformed into the domain of the graph database directly,via an inversion of the transformations, and/or via an inversion of thecalculations of the metadata described and refresh the generatedrepresentation of the source node and the set of related nodes based onthe modified graph database.

In several embodiments, the nodes and edges can be utilized in acomputing capacity whereby a node can be imbued with a capacity toautomatically generate and/or modify edges in its perspective, therebyaugmenting or pruning its perspective and gaining access to and/orrelinquishing information encoded in the edges, nodes and metadata inthe graph by using a rule or mathematical function based on the edges,nodes and metadata encoded in its current perspective. For example, anode within the graph database can correspond to a client device capableof processing received data and transmitting data describing othercomputing devices to which the client device can communicate. Similarly,a node can include the capability of executing requests for data (e.g.identifying related nodes within the graph database and/or providingaccess to secondary nodes connected to the node via one or more edges)and returning responses to those requests based on the received request.In this way, a node can dynamically present some or all of the requesteddata (e.g. subgraph within the graph database) using the computingcapability of the node itself. It should be noted, however, that therequested data can also be generated in response to the received requestas appropriate to the requirements of specific applications ofembodiments of the invention. In a variety of embodiments, the graphdatabase manipulation application further configures the processor tolocate the set of related nodes for the source (the perspective of thesource) based on the permission metadata for the nodes in the set ofrelated nodes, including permissions assigned to the nodes, andpermissions assigned to the edges. In several embodiments, permissiondata can be encoded as numerical key and/or bitmask metadata and/orgraph structural data, including permission nodes that permitconnections between nodes in the set of related nodes within theirperspective. In many embodiments, the graph database manipulationapplication further configures the processor to recursively locate thesub related nodes in the set of sub related nodes based on thepermission data for the sub related nodes and/or based on permissions.In a number of embodiments, the metadata is a complex number having areal component and an imaginary component. In several embodiments, themetadata represents a property selected spatial position, a color,and/or a size. In a variety of embodiments, the metadata is a binarystring.

In many embodiments, the determination of the extent of the recursiveperspective can be based upon the product of the accumulated weights ofthe magnitude of the edge weight metadata. In a variety of embodiments,the edge display metadata describes the relative layout of the nodesassociated with the edge including the edge display metadata and thegeneration of the representation of the set of related nodes and the setof sub related nodes based on the perspective of the source node furtherincludes recursively calculating the position of the representation of asub related node based on the edge display metadata for the sub relatednode and the edge display metadata for nodes within the set of relatednodes that are predecessor nodes to the sub related node. In severalembodiments, the metadata available in a given perspective can beapproximated such that an approximated perspective can be displayed tothe user, an approximated version of the edge weight metadata can beused for calculations based on the graph database.

In a number of embodiments, at least one third party node in the set ofnodes represents a third party data source device and the at least onethird party node includes node metadata retrieved from the third partydata source device. In many embodiments, the edge weight metadata forthe edges in the set of edges that are connected to the at least onethird party node can be based on the time of acquiring data about thenode, the latency associated with retrieving the node metadata from thethird party data source device, and/or another property related to timeand/or space from which other properties related to time and space, suchas order or sequence, can be interpreted.

Graph Database Manipulation Systems

Graph database manipulation systems in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention are configured to visualize and manipulate graphdatabases. A conceptual illustration of a graph database manipulationsystem in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is shown inFIG. 1. The graph database manipulation system 100 includes a graphdatabase manipulation device 110 connected to a graph database serversystem 120 and, in a variety of embodiments, one or more data sourcedevices 130 via network 140. In many embodiments, the graph databasemanipulation device 110 and the graph database server system 120 areimplemented using a single server. In a variety of embodiments, thegraph database manipulation device 110 and/or the graph database serversystem 120 are implemented using a plurality of servers. In manyembodiments, data source devices 130 are implemented utilizing the graphdatabase server system 120. In a number of embodiments, data sourcedevices 130 include any of a variety of network-connected devices,including third-party data source devices, as appropriate to therequirements of specific applications in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. Network 140 can be one or more of a variety of networks,including, but not limited to, wide-area networks, local area networks,and/or the Internet as appropriate to the requirements of specificapplications in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

The graph database manipulation device 110 is configured to obtain agraph database (or a portion thereof) from the graph database serversystem 120. The graph database server system 120 is configured to obtainthe nodes and edges contained within the graph database(s), includingdata source devices 130, the graph database manipulation device 110, andany other source of graph data as appropriate to the requirements ofspecific applications in accordance with embodiments of the invention.The graph database contains a set of nodes and a set of edgesrepresenting the relationships between the nodes. In a variety ofembodiments, nodes include node metadata indicating the content of thenode and edges include edge weight metadata and edge display metadata.It should be noted that any of a variety of data could be incorporatedinto the nodes and/or edges as appropriate to the requirements ofspecific applications in accordance with embodiments of the invention.In a variety of embodiments, the graph database contains one or morereferences (such as a uniform resource locator) to nodes and/or edgesthat are stored in a distributed fashion across multiple systems,including third-party systems.

The graph database manipulation device 110 is further configured togenerate a representation of the graph database from the perspective ofa node within the graph database. The representation of the graphdatabase includes a set of related nodes recursively identified based onthe source node and the edges connecting the source node and the relatednodes. In a variety of embodiments, the nodes and/or edges within thegraph database have permission metadata determining which nodes andedges are available to be included within the perspective of the sourcenode. The layout of the generated representation can be based on theedge weight metadata and the edge display metadata contained in theedges while the content of the generated representation can be based onnode metadata contained in the nodes. In many embodiments, the graphdatabase manipulation device 110 is configured to display avisualization of the generated representation using a display device.The visualization of the representation can be based on the source node,the edge weight metadata, and the edge display metadata in that aparticular set of nodes can have a different context (and therefore adifferent visualized representation) based on the source node. Inseveral embodiments, the generated representation approximates the nodesand/or edges contained in the graph database. Techniques forapproximating a graph database from the perspective of a source nodethat can be utilized as appropriate to the requirements of specificapplications in accordance with embodiments of the invention aredescribed in more detail below.

A variety of manipulations can be performed on the generatedrepresentation using the graph database manipulation device 110 asappropriate to the requirements of specific applications in accordancewith embodiments of the invention, including those described in moredetail below. The graph database manipulation device 110 modifies thegraph database based on the received manipulations, thereby recursivelymodifying the nodes and edges present in the graph database. In thoseembodiments where one or more nodes and/or edges are references to adata source device 130, the graph database manipulation device 110 isconfigured to transmit the modifications to the nodes and/or edges tothe data source device 130 to be applied.

Graph database manipulation systems in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention are described above with respect to FIG. 1; however, anyof a variety of graph database manipulation systems can be utilized inaccordance with embodiments of the invention. Systems and methods forvisualizing and manipulating graph databases in accordance withembodiments of the invention are discussed below.

Graph Database Manipulation Devices

In many cases, a representation of a graph database is generated andvisualized to enable a user to explore the graph database. Graphdatabase manipulation devices are configured to generate representationsof a graph database from the perspective of one or more source nodes andmanipulate the graph database based on modifications to the generatedrepresentations. A graph database manipulation device in accordance withan embodiment of the invention is conceptually illustrated in FIG. 2.The graph database manipulation device 200 includes a processor 210 incommunication with a memory 230. The processor 210 can include any of avariety of single core, multi-core, and/or parallel processing enginesas appropriate to the requirements of specific applications inaccordance with embodiments of the invention. The graph databasemanipulation device 200 also includes a network interface 220 configuredto send and receive data over a network connection. In a number ofembodiments, the network interface 220 is in communication with theprocessor 210 and/or memory 230. In several embodiments, the memory 230is any form of storage configured to store a variety of data, including,but not limited to, graph database manipulation application 232, nodedata 234, and edge data 236. In many embodiments, the node data 234and/or the edge data 236 are stored using an external server system andreceived by the graph database manipulation device 200 using the networkinterface 220. External server systems in accordance with a variety ofembodiments include, but are not limited to, graph database serversystems, database systems, and other distributed storage services asappropriate to the requirements of specific applications in accordancewith embodiments of the invention.

The graph database manipulation application 232 configures processor 210to perform a graph database manipulation processes based on the nodedata 234 and the edge data 236. In many embodiments, the node data 234and the edge data 236 include the set of nodes and/or set of edgescontained within a graph database (or a portion thereof). The graphdatabase manipulation process includes determining one or more sourcenodes within the node data 234, recursively locating a set of relatednodes in the node data 234 based on edges describing relationshipsbetween the nodes in the edge data 236, and generating a representationof the graph database from the perspective of the source node andincluding the related nodes. The layout of the nodes within thegenerated representation can be based on the edge weight metadata andthe edge display metadata contained within the edges relating the nodesin the generated representation. Techniques for generating therepresentation of the nodes based on the edge weight metadata and theedge display metadata (including techniques for approximating therepresentation of the nodes and edges) that can be utilized inaccordance with embodiments of the invention are described in moredetail below. The generated representation of a node can include nodemetadata associated with the node describing the concept represented bythe node within the graph database. In a variety of embodiments, thegraph database manipulation device 200 includes a display device 240connected to the processor 210 and configured to display a visualizationof the generated representation. In many embodiments, the node data 234and/or edge data 236 has permission metadata associated with the nodesand/or edges. The locations of related nodes and/or the generation ofthe representation of the located nodes are based on the permissionmetadata, where a node and/or edge cannot be included in the location ofrelated nodes if the permission thresholds indicated in the permissionmetadata are not met.

The graph database manipulation process further includes receivingmodifications to the generated representation. In several embodiments,the graph database manipulation device 200 includes an input device 242configured to receive input indicative of modifications to the generatedrepresentation. The input device 242 is also configured to receive inputindicative of a source node within a graph database. The input device242 includes keyboards, mice, cameras, touch interfaces, and any otherinput device as appropriate to the requirements of specific applicationsin accordance with embodiments of the invention. Based on themodifications to the generated representation, the node data 234 and/orthe edge data 236 are updated as appropriate to the receivedmodifications. In embodiments where the node data 234 and/or edge data236 are stored using a remote graph database server system, the graphdatabase manipulation process configures the processor 210 to transmitthe modifications using the network interface 220. When the nodes and/oredges include permission metadata, the manipulation of the node data 234and/or edge data 236 (including the transmission of the manipulations)can be based on the permission metadata. For example, if a node hasread-only permissions defined in the permission metadata, the graphdatabase manipulation process could not allow modifications to the nodedata within the visualized representation and/or not update (ortransmit) the node data 234 and/or the edge data 236 based on thereceived modifications.

Graph database manipulation devices in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention are described above with respect to FIG. 2; however, anyof a variety of architectures, including those that store data orapplications on disk or some other form of storage and are loaded intothe memory at runtime can be utilized in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. Processes for the visualization and manipulation of graphdatabases in accordance with embodiments of the invention are describedbelow.

Generating Graph Databases

Graphs contain nodes and edges describing the relationships between thenodes. A graph-based representation of data can be explored by analyzingthe nodes and the relationships between the nodes to gain insight intothe underlying concepts and relationships. Graph databases in accordancewith embodiments of the invention are configured to store conceptualdata in nodes and the relationships between the nodes in the edges.Graph databases are utilized by graph database manipulation devices tovisualize and manipulate the graph databases as appropriate to therequirements of specific applications in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. A process for generating a graph database based on sourcedata in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is conceptuallyillustrated in FIG. 3. The process 300 includes obtaining (310) sourcedata. Associated data is determined (312) and weights are determined(314). In many embodiments, the source data is encoded (316). Nodes aregenerated (318) and edges are generated (320).

The obtained (310) source data includes concepts and relationshipsbetween the concepts. Source data can be obtained (310) from any of avariety of data sources, such as data source devices, user inputindicative of concepts and relationships, and any other data source asappropriate to the requirements of specific applications in accordancewith embodiments of the invention. In many embodiments, the obtained(310) source data includes permission data describing the permissionsassociated with the concepts and/or relationships within the sourcedata. The determined (312) associated data can include determiningrelationship weights and/or display data based on the obtained (310)source data. In several embodiments, the determined (312) associateddata is included in the obtained (310) source data. The determinedassociated (312) data can also include determining relationships betweenconcepts in the obtained (310) source data. In a number of embodiments,determining (312) associated data includes determining permissionmetadata based on the obtained (310) concepts, relationships, and/or thedata source providing the source data. The permission metadata caninclude a security mechanism (e.g. a password, a security token, ahandshake protocol, and/or a message) for accessing some or all of thedata associated with a node, the neighbors associated with the node(e.g. nodes within a graph database having edges in common with thenode), and/or payment thresholds as appropriate to the requirements ofspecific applications in accordance with embodiments of the invention.For example, a node can have permission metadata that provides a firstset of node (meta)data for free, while if a payment is made the nodewill provide a second set of node (meta)data and/or edges indicatingrelationships to other nodes.

The determined (314) weights can be based on a variety of factors asappropriate to the requirements of specific applications in accordancewith embodiments of the invention, such as the obtained concepts, therelationships between the concepts, and the determined (312) associateddata. Encoding (316) source data includes encoding the relationshipweights into edge weight metadata and/or encoding the display data intoedge display metadata. In a number of embodiments, the relationshipsweights are encoded into edge weight metadata as a complex number (e.g.a number with a real component and an imaginary component) and thedisplay data is encoded into edge display metadata as a binary string.It should be noted, however, that the encoding (316) of edge weightmetadata and edge display metadata can be any format, including realnumbers and character strings, as appropriate to the requirements ofspecific applications in accordance with embodiments of the invention.Furthermore, the edge display metadata and the edge weight metadata canbe a single piece of metadata as appropriate to the requirements ofspecific applications of embodiments of the invention. The generated(318) node data includes concepts from the obtained (310) source data.In several embodiments, the generated (318) node data includes nodemetadata (including a string representing the concept represented by thenode data) and references to one or more pieces of edge data. Thecharacter string can be taken from the obtained (310) source data and/orbe an aggregation of related concepts within the source data. Thegenerated (320) edge data includes the relationships contained withinthe obtained (310) source data and/or determined (312) associated data.A generated (320) piece of edge data includes the determined (314) edgeweight metadata and the edge display metadata for the relationship usedto generate the edge data. In a variety of embodiments, the generated(318) node data and/or the generated (320) edge data includes permissionmetadata. The generated (318) node data and/or the generated (320) edgedata can also include latency metadata describing a time associated withretrieving data from the node and/or edge, such as a communicationlatency and/or a processing latency as appropriate to the requirementsof specific applications in accordance with embodiments of theinvention.

Although specific processes for the generation of graph databases arediscussed above with respect to FIG. 3, any of a variety of processes,including those that provide alternative permission mechanisms and thosethat store additional metadata in the generated nodes and/or edges, canbe performed in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Processesfor visualizing and manipulating graph databases in accordance withembodiments of the invention are described below.

Visualizing Graph Databases from Source Nodes

In order to effectively explore a graph database, it is useful togenerate a representation of the graph database from the perspective ofa source node. This representation can then be visualized and exploredto traverse the concepts and relationships contained within the graphdatabase. Graph database manipulation devices in accordance withembodiments of the invention are configured to generate and visualizerepresentations of graph databases. A process for visualizing a graphdatabase in accordance with an embodiment of the invention isconceptually illustrated in FIG. 4. The process 400 includes obtaining(410) a source node. In many embodiments, node permissions aredetermined (412). The perspective of the node is determined (414). Nodeweights are determined (416) and a node layout is generated (418). Ifadditional nodes exist (420), node permissions are determined (412) orthe node perspective is determined (414) as appropriate to the specificembodiment of the invention.

A source node can be obtained (410) from within the graph database. Inmany embodiments, the obtained (410) source node corresponds to a userof a graph database manipulation device, although any node within thegraph database can be the obtained (410) source node as appropriate tothe requirements of specific applications in accordance with embodimentsof the invention. In several embodiments, obtaining (410) a source nodeincludes obtaining a portion of the data (e.g. a summary and/or apreview) of the data associated with the source node within the graphdatabase. In a variety of embodiments, the obtained (410) source node isa node not present within the graph database that is virtually linked toone or more nodes within the graph database. In several embodiments, thepermissions for the source node are determined (412) based on permissionmetadata in the source node. In a number of embodiments, the permissionsfor the source node are determined (412) based on the graph databasemanipulation device visualizing the graph database; other permissionscan be determined (412) as appropriate to the requirements of specificapplications in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

The perspective of the source node is determined (414) by recursivelytraversing the graph database. A number of techniques can be utilized totraverse the graph in accordance with embodiments of the invention,including, but not limited to, depth-first search (DFS), breadth-firstsearch (BFS), iterative deepening DFS, depth-limited DFS, lexicographicBFS, beam search, and best-first search. Other techniques, includingpath finding techniques, can be utilized as appropriate to therequirements of specific applications in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. A variety of factors can be utilized to define (e.g.limit) the perspective of the source node, including a distancethreshold for a related node to the source node (measured by the edgesbetween the nodes in the graph database), a time threshold based on thetime taken to traverse the graph database, and/or permission metadataassociated with the nodes and/or edges within the graph database. Fromthe perspective of a first node, nodes within one edge of the first nodecan be known as related nodes, while nodes in excess of one edge fromthe first node can be known as sub-related nodes. Node weights aredetermined (416) based on the edge weight metadata included in the edgesconnecting the related nodes to the source node. In a variety ofembodiments, the node weight for a particular related node is determined(416) based on the node weight for its predecessor node (e.g. the nodetraversed prior to the particular related node during the determination(414) of the node perspective) and the edge weight metadata for the edgeconnecting the particular related node and its predecessor node. A nodelayout can be generated (418) based on the determined node weight andthe edge display metadata for the edge connecting the particular relatednode and the predecessor node. In many embodiments, the node weightdetermines the size (e.g. area) of the node within the generated (418)layout and the edge display metadata determines the position of thenodes within the generated (418) layout. Visual characteristics for thelayout (e.g. color, shading, shape) of the node within the generated(418) layout can be determined utilizing the edge weight metadata and/orthe edge display metadata. In a number of embodiments, the visualcharacteristics are encoded in a binary string. In many embodiments, thevisual characteristics are encoded as a complex number. The size,position, and/or visual characteristics of a node can be absolute (e.g.the same regardless of layout) or dependent on the source node and/orother related nodes within the generated representation. For example,the position of the generated (418) layout for a particular node candepend on the other nodes being (or previously) laid out. In manyembodiments, the node layout depends on the node metadata for thenode(s) being laid out. The above process repeats until no additionalnodes exist (420) in the perspective of the obtained (410) source node.

Turning now to FIG. 8A, an example of a node layout for a representationfor a source node within a graph database in accordance with anembodiment of the invention is conceptually illustrated. FIG. 8A shows agenerated representation of a graph database from the perspective of asource node c0 with related nodes c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, and c6, wherenodes c1-c6 are connected via edges to source node c0. The generatedrepresentation 800 includes the node layout using boxes c5 810, c2 812,c3 814, c1 816, c6 818, and c4 820. The sizes of the boxes c5 810, c2812, c3 814, c1 816, c6 818, and c4 820 are determined based on the edgedisplay metadata in the edges connecting nodes c1-c6 to c0. Theleft-to-right layout of boxes c5 810, c2 812, c3 814, c1 816, c6 818,and c4 820 are determined based on edge display metadata of the edges.Turning now to FIG. 8B, a second example node layout of a representationfor a source node within a graph database in accordance with anembodiment of the invention is conceptually illustrated. The generatedrepresentation 850 is from the perspective of node c0 with related nodesc1-c6 (connected to c0 within the graph database by edges) and containsboxes c3 860, c2 862, c1 864, c2 866, c4 868, and c6 870. The size ofthe boxes c3 860, c2 862, c1 864, c2 866, c4 868, and c6 870 is based onthe edge weight metadata for the edges connecting c0 to c1-c6, while thelayout of the boxes is based on the edge display metadata. The edgedisplay metadata indicates that box c3 860 should appear to the upperleft of box c1 864, while the edge display metadata for box c5 862indicates that it should appear to the lower left of box c1 864.Similarly, the edge display metadata indicates that box c6 870 shouldappear to the upper right of box c1 864. The edge display metadatacorresponding to box c4 868 indicates that node layout should appearunder box c6 870 and the edge display metadata for box c2 866 indicatesthat the box should appear below box c4 868. In this way, the generatedrepresentation 850 includes a generated node layout based on relativepositions of node representations.

Turning now to FIG. 11, a conceptual illustration of overlapping nodeswithin different recursive perspectives in accordance with an embodimentof the invention is shown. The graph database visualization userinterface 1100 includes a visualization 1110 of the graph database fromthe perspective of node n0 along with node representation 1120 from theperspective of node n1 and node representation 1130 from the perspectiveof node n2. Sub-nodes n1, n2, n3, n4, and n5 are within the perspectiveof node n0, where nodes n3 and n5 are connected to node n1 and nodes n4and n5 are connected to node n2. The node representation 1120 for noden1 includes a visualization of nodes n3 and n5, while the noderepresentation 1130 for node n2 includes a visualization of nodes n4 andn5. In this way, the overlapping node n5 is shown in multiple recursiveperspectives (i.e. node representation 1120 and node representation1130).

Returning now to FIG. 4, determining the relative spatial positions ofthe nodes in the generated (418) layout includes parsing a binarystring. The binary string can be generated for a node based on just theedge connected to the node and/or determined based on the node and itspredecessor nodes. The following algorithm can be utilized to generate(418) a layout by comparing binary strings:

-   -   1) The bits of the binary strings are compared until a differing        bit is found    -   2) If that difference bit is in an even placement, the generated        (418) node layout is split horizontally.    -   3) Otherwise, the generated (418) node layout is split        vertically.        For more than two nodes, all nodes are compared until a        difference is detected; once the difference is detected, the set        of nodes is split into sub-groups until pairwise groups emerge        and the above algorithm can be utilized. It should be noted,        however, that any technique for generating a layout can be        utilized as appropriate to the requirements of specific        applications of embodiments of the invention. In many        embodiments, any sortable quantity, inasmuch as it may be        converted into a binary number, can also be used as a method for        identifying location(s) in which to split horizontally and/or        vertically to be used in accordance with the processes described        above. Furthermore, any set of sortable quantities that can be        converted into binary numbers and/or interleaved into a single        binary number or concatenated into a single binary number can        also be utilized.

In a variety of embodiments, one or more of the nodes in the generated(418) layout can include image data that can be displayed. Similarly, asubgraph of nodes can be interpreted as image data in the visualrepresentation of a particular portion of the graph database. Turningnow to FIG. 13, a conceptual illustration of a subgraph interpretable asimage data in one or more perspectives in accordance with an embodimentof the invention is shown. The graph database user interface 1300includes a visualization of graph database 1310 along with image datagenerated based on the subgraphs for nodes n1 and n2. The noderepresentation 1320, from the perspective of node n1, includes imagedata forming an image of a heart and lungs based on the nodes and edgesin the subgraph visible from the perspective of node n1. Similarly, nodeperspective 1330, from the perspective of node n2, includes image dataforming an image of the heart from based on the nodes and edges in thesubgraph visible from the perspective of node n2. In this way, nodes andedges in the graph database can be interpreted as pixels within a pieceof image data. This allows for the nodes and edges to be visualized asan image along with facilitating the encoding of image data (i.e.compressed and/or uncompressed image data) as nodes and edges within agraph database.

Specific examples of node layouts for a specific perspective from theperspective of a source node within a graph database is conceptuallyillustrated in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 11; however, the above is by way ofexample only and a variety of node layouts, source nodes, and graphdatabases can be utilized in accordance with embodiments of theinvention. Similarly, while a specific example of generating image databased on a subgraph from the perspective of a source node isconceptually illustrated in FIG. 13, any image data and any images canbe stored and generated as appropriate to the requirements of specificapplications in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Althoughspecific processes for the visualization of graph databases arediscussed above with respect to FIG. 4, any of a variety of processes,including those utilizing graph representations differing from thosedescribed above and those utilizing alternative techniques to generatenode layouts, can be performed in accordance with embodiments of theinvention. Processes for manipulating and approximating graph databasesin accordance with embodiments of the invention are described below.

Manipulating Graph Databases

By exploring a representation of a graph database, a user can wish toadd, modify, and/or remove data within the graph database and/or modifythe layout of the generated representation. These modifications shouldbe propagated to the graph database so that the new data is available toother users and/or in future explorations of the graph database. Graphdatabase manipulation devices in accordance with embodiments of theinvention are configured to modify graph databases based onmanipulations of the representation of the graph database. A process formanipulating a graph database in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention is conceptually illustrated in FIG. 5. The process 500includes obtaining (510) node update data. Linked nodes are determined(512). In a number of embodiments, node permissions are analyzed (514).The node is updated (516) and, in several embodiments, a node updatenotification is transmitted (518).

A node update includes a target node and changed data metadataindicating the properties of the node and/or edges connected to the nodeto be updated. In several embodiments, a node update is obtained (510)from an input device included in a graph database manipulation device.The changed data metadata can include any update to the node metadata,edge weight metadata, and/or the edge display metadata as appropriate tothe requirements of specific applications in accordance with embodimentsof the invention. These updates include, but are not limited to,shifting the layout of nodes within a generated representation,transforming the size, rotation, and/or shape of nodes within agenerated representation, changing the color of one or more nodes (e.g.data brushing), adding and/or removing edges between nodes within thegraph database, adding and/or removing nodes within the graph database,modifying node metadata describing the concept associated with a node,and adding, modifying, or removing aggregations present in one or morenodes within the graph database. Other node updates, includingcombinations of the described node updates and other updated notspecifically described, can be utilized as appropriate to therequirements of specific applications in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention. Node update data can also indicate to which node(s) theupdate should be applied; node updates can be applied to a single nodeand/or edge, the entire graph database, and/or one or more subgraphswithin the graph database as appropriate to the requirements of specificapplications in accordance with embodiments of the invention. In severalembodiments, the node updates are only applied to a particularperspective of a node and/or the nodes available to a particular graphdatabase manipulation device. Node updates can be customized and/orbased on a template related to the particular properties of the nodesand/or edges being modified in the node update.

In a variety of embodiments, a node update is obtained (510) from one ormore nodes within the graph database. Determining (512) linked nodesincludes identifying the target node for the update and recursivelyidentifying related nodes within the graph database utilizing techniquessimilar to those described above. In many embodiments, permissionmetadata is analyzed (514) to determine if a particular node and/or edgewill perform and/or transmit the obtained (510) node update data.Updating (516) a node and/or edge includes adding, removing, and/ormodifying metadata associated with the node and/or edge. In a number ofembodiments, updating (516) a node includes modifying edge weightmetadata for an edge connected to the node by computing a new complexnumber based on the previous edge weight metadata and the obtained (510)node update. In several embodiments, updating (516) a node includesmodifying edge display metadata for an edge connected to the node bycomputing a new binary string based on the previous edge displaymetadata and the obtained (510) node update. The transmission (518) ofnode update notifications can be performed by passing messages betweenthe nodes. In a variety of embodiments, node update notifications aretransmitted (518) to nodes (or nodes having edges) to which the nodeupdate should be performed. The transmission (518) of node updatenotifications allows for the distributed (and parallel) processing ofnode updates across multiple nodes within the graph database, includingthose nodes that are stored in a distributed fashion. Transmitting (518)node update notifications can include a delay based on various lockingtechniques within distributed systems and/or latency associated with thetransmission and/or application of the node updates. In manyembodiments, the generated representation of the graph database isrefreshed before, during, or after the transmission (518) of the nodeupdate notification(s).

Turning now to FIGS. 9A and 9B, a graph database 900 conceptuallyillustrated in FIG. 9A includes nodes n1 910, n2 920, n4 914, n5 922, n6924, n7 912, and n8 916. Nodes n5 922 and n6 924 are related to node n2920 as indicated by the darkened edges connected to node n2 920, whilenodes n4 914, n7 912, and n8 916 are related to node n1 910 as indicatedby the darkened edges connected to node n1 910. Utilizing processessimilar to those described above, the edge weight metadata and the edgedisplay metadata for the connecting edges is utilized to generate therepresentation 950 with node layouts n1 960, n2 970, n4 962, n5 972, n6974, n7 964, and n8 966 that is conceptually illustrated in FIG. 9B.

Turning now to FIGS. 10A and 10B, several node updates have beenperformed to the graph database 900 and the generated representation 950utilizing processes similar to those described above. In theconceptually illustrated generated representation 1050 shown in FIG.10B, input has been received that has moved node layouts n7 1074 and n81076 to fall within node layout n2 1070, while node layout n6 1062 isnow associated with node layout n1 1060. Node layouts n7 1074 and n81076 appear to the right of node layout n5 1072 while node layout n81076 continues to appear below node layout n7 1074. Likewise, nodelayout n4 1064 is positioned to the left of node layout n6 1062. Thesenode updates performed to the generated representation of the nodes havebeen passed to the various nodes within the graph database 1000 andresult in recursively applied updates to the graph database 1000. Thegraph database 1000 conceptually illustrated in FIG. 10A includes nodesn1 1010, n2 1020, n4 1012, n6 1014, n5 1022, n7 1024, and n8 1026. Ascompared to FIG. 9A, node n1 1010 has deleted edges between nodes n71024 and n8 1026, while adding an edge with node n6 1014. Similarly,nodes n7 1025 and n8 1026 have added edges with node n2 1020, while noden2 1020 has removed its edge with node n6 1014. The edge weight metadataand the edge display metadata for the edges connecting nodes n1 1010, n21020, n4 1012, n6 1014, n5 1022, n7 1024, and n8 1026 are similarlyupdated to reflect the new positioning of the node layouts correspondingto the nodes.

Turning now to FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C, conceptual illustrations ofoperations leading to the partitioning of two clusters in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention are shown. In FIG. 12A, graphdatabase user interface 1200 includes a graph database 1210 includingnodes n1 and n2 having related subgraphs n3-12 and n13-22. In graphdatabase 1210, both subgraphs n3-12 and n13-22 are related to node n1.Node representation 1220 conceptually illustrates that subgraphs n3-12and n13-22 are contained in the perspective of node n1, while nosubgraphs are included in the node perspective 1222 for node n2. Turningto FIG. 12B, the graph database user interface 130 includes graphdatabase 1240 that is substantially similar to graph database 1210 withthe addition of edges indicating a relationship between node n2 andsubgraph n13-22. Node representation 1250 illustrates that subgraphsn3-12 and n13-22 are related to node n1; node representation 1252illustrates that subgraph n13-22 is related to node n2. In a variety ofembodiments, the relationships between node n2 and subgraph n13-22 canbe formed by manipulating graph database 1210 to include the additionaledges in graph database 1240. Turning now to FIG. 12C, the graphdatabase user interface 1260 includes graph database 1270 along withnode representation 1280 and node representation 1282. In graph database1270, the relationships between node n1 and subgraph n13-22 have beenremoved. Accordingly, node representation 1280 illustrates that node n1is related to subgraph n3-12; node representation 1282 illustrates thatnode n2 is related to subgraph n13-22. Similar to the interaction above,graph database 1250 can be manipulated to form graph database 1270 byremoving the edges indicating the relationship(s) between node n1 andsubgraph n13-22.

Although specific examples of generated perspectives from theperspective of a source node within a graph database and updates to thatperspective are conceptually illustrated in FIGS. 9A, 9B, 10A, 10B, and12A-12C, the above is by way of example only and a variety of nodelayouts, source nodes, graph databases, and modifications can beutilized in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Specificprocesses for manipulating graph databases are discussed above withrespect to FIG. 5; however, any of a variety of processes, includingthose that do not recursively manipulate the graph database, can beperformed in accordance with embodiments of the invention. Processes forapproximating graph databases in accordance with embodiments of theinvention are described below.

Approximating Graph Databases

Graph database with a high degree of dimensionality (e.g. a large numberof nodes and edges) can provide a large amount of information thatnegatively influences the ability to explore the graph database and gaininsights into the data. Similarly, graph databases with a high degree ofdimensionality can exceed the computational power and/or storage of manycomputing devices. By generating an approximation to the graph database,the information stored in the graph database can be more easilyprocessed, explored, and manipulated. Particular portions of theapproximate database can be used to identify regions of interest withinthe full graph database for further exploration in more detail. Graphdatabase manipulation devices in accordance with embodiments of theinvention are configured to generate approximations of graph databasesto facilitate the processing and exploration of the graph database. Aprocess for approximating a graph database in accordance with anembodiment of the invention is conceptually illustrated in FIG. 6. Theprocess 600 includes obtaining (610) a source node. The perspective ofthe source node is determined (612). Edges are approximated (614) and anapproximate view is generated (616).

In a variety of embodiments, a source node is obtained (610) utilizingprocesses similar to those described above. In several embodiments,determining (612) the perspective of the source node utilizes processessimilar to those described above. Edges can be approximated (614)utilizing a variety of techniques as appropriate to the requirements ofspecific applications in accordance with embodiments of the invention.These techniques include, but are not limited to, random sampling ofnodes within a particular distance from the obtained (610) source node,sampling nodes based on the number of edges connected to the nodesrelated to the source node, analyzing priority metadata and/orpermission metadata associated with the nodes and/or edges, andaggregating nodes and/or edges to generate an approximate graph from theperspective of the obtained (610) source node. The aggregation of nodesand/or edges can also be performed based on the layout of the nodeswithin a generated representation of the source node and the relatednodes within the graph database. For example, if the generatedrepresentation of a set of nodes would be too small for a user toeffectively explore, the nodes can be aggregated so that usefulinformation can still be analyzed by the user.

In many embodiments, edges are approximated (614) utilizing smartsampling techniques. Smart sampling techniques in accordance withembodiments of the invention include determining outlier nodes. Outliernodes include nodes with few spatial neighbors, nodes with long edges,and/or nodes with high divergence. The length of an edge can bedetermined based on a variety of criteria, such as the distance betweennodes within a visualized representation of the graph database, alatency associated with traversing the edge, edge weight metadataassociated with the edge, and/or computed based on the edge weightmetadata and/or the edge display metadata. In a variety of embodiments,the weight of an edge is determined by computing the squared complexweight based on the edge weight metadata. In several embodiments, edgescan be incorporated into the graph database within a visualization usinga variety of techniques. These techniques include, but are not limitedto, preferentially sampling edges that will be drawn over empty space,preferentially sampling for edges between nodes that are separated byempty space, or any other techniques as appropriated to the requirementsof specific applications of the invention. A heuristic algorithm can beutilized to determine the nodes to be sampled based on the properties ofthe node (e.g. the contents of the node and/or the time the node waslast updated) and/or the edges connected to the node, such as thelongest incoming or outgoing edge for a given node. In a number ofembodiments, generating (616) the approximate view can be based on theapproximated (614) edges and the obtained (610) source node utilizingprocesses similar to those described above. Other techniques for thesmart sampling of nodes and edges to approximate (614) edges within agraph database from the perspective of a source node can be utilized asappropriate to the requirements of specific applications in accordancewith embodiments of the invention.

In a variety of embodiments, a localized approximation (such as aVoronoi decomposition, or binary tree of spatial relationships betweengroups) can be utilized to approximate and/or cluster a subgraph inspace, by partitioning the graph database into partial segments relatedwithin Cartesian space and/or the graph structure itself. Nodes andedges within a partition can be identified, selected, and manipulated bythe user as a group. In one embodiment, a spatial cursor representing auser effector could quickly identify and select a spatial subsegment ofa viewed subgraph, which could then be operated on as a group (moved inspace or re-linked to another cluster), according to the wishes of theuser. According to the wishes of the user, the selected spatialsubsegment could also be refined by further manipulations, such asallowing the cursor to hover over the same spatial location.

In a variety of embodiments, a localized subset of the graph databasecan be employed as a localized approximation or projection of a graphdatabase by partitioning the graph database into partial segmentsrelated within the graph database manipulation device. In a variety ofembodiments, this type of approximation or clustering is done tomaintaining the graph over disparate hardware. In a variety ofembodiments, these segments can be identified via an automated mechanismfor identifying minimal graph cuts for partitioning the graph, or simplyvia a threshold of locality around a source node. In a variety ofembodiments, when a source node is selected within the graph databasemanipulation device, the nodes and edges within the partial segment ofthe graph containing the source node can be utilized by the graphdatabase manipulation device as an approximation of the graph databasefor the purpose of display and further computation. As the partialsegment is explored within the graph database manipulation device, theview and content of the partial segment can be changed to continuerepresenting the graph locally.

Specific processes for the approximation of graph databases arediscussed above with respect to FIG. 6; however, any of a variety ofprocesses, including approximation and/or sampling techniques notdescribed above, can be performed in accordance with embodiments of theinvention. Processes for processing messages using nodes within thegraph database in accordance with embodiments of the invention arediscussed below.

Processing Node Messages

Nodes within a graph database can be configured to provide a variety ofinformation based on requests for that information. This information canbe taken from the node itself and/or from related nodes connected to thenode. The information provided by a node can be influenced by the noderequesting the information, providing a security mechanism for onlyproviding data to those nodes with permissions to view the data. Graphdatabase manipulation devices in accordance with embodiments of theinvention are configured to transmit, process, and receive nodemessages. A process for processing node messages in accordance with anembodiment of the invention is conceptually illustrated in FIG. 7. Theprocess 700 includes obtaining (710) a node message. In manyembodiments, node permissions are analyzed (712). The node message isprocessed (714). In a variety of embodiments, a node message response istransmitted (716).

A node message contains data request metadata indicating the desireddata from the node receiving the node message. In a number ofembodiments, the node message includes metadata identifying the nodetransmitting the node message and/or the intended node(s) to receive themessage. In several embodiments, a node message is obtained (710) via anetwork connection and/or from an input device included in a graphdatabase manipulation device. In a number of embodiments, a node messageis obtained (710) from another node within the graph database. In manyembodiments, node permissions are determined (712) based on permissionmetadata for the node obtaining (710) the node message. In a number ofembodiments, the node permissions are determined (712) based on thegraph database manipulation device visualizing the graph database; othernode permissions can be determined (712) as appropriate to therequirements of specific applications in accordance with embodiments ofthe invention.

Processing (714) the node message includes determining the datarequested within the node message based on the data request metadata. Ina variety of embodiments, determining the requested data includescalculating additional data based on the data available to the nodeobtaining (710) the node message. The available data can include datapresent within the node and/or data present in other nodes connected tothe node within the graph database. To retrieve data from other nodeswithin the graph database, additional node messages requesting the datafrom the other nodes can be created and transmitted by the nodeobtaining (710) the node message. In a number of embodiments, additionalnodes are brought into the perspective of the node obtaining (710) thenode message in order to request and receive the data needed to preparethe requested data. In many embodiments, a node message responseincluding the requested data is created and transmitted (716). The nodemessage response can also include metadata describing the sender andintended recipients of the node message response along with permissionmetadata describing access to the requested data. The transmission (716)of a node message response can be performed utilizing processes similarto those described above.

In a variety of embodiments, messages sent between nodes can be used asa method to augment a node's perspective. A source node within thegraph, connected via edges to a field of additional successor nodes,requests from it successors data about their outgoing edges. If thecriteria for permissions are met, according to the above descriptionsfor the interaction between messages and permissions metadata, successornodes can transmit to the original node data about their own outgoingedges and successors, turning second-order successors into first-ordersuccessors. In this way, the perspective of a source node can grow,augmenting the domain over which it can have an effect on the largergraph.

Specific processes for processing node messages are discussed above withrespect to FIG. 7; however, any of a variety of processes not describedabove can be performed in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

Although the present invention has been described in certain specificaspects, many additional modifications and variations would be apparentto those skilled in the art. For example, any of the various processesdescribed above can be performed in alternative sequences and/or inparallel (on different computing devices) in order to achieve similarresults in a manner that is more appropriate to the requirements of aspecific application of the invention. It is therefore to be understoodthat the present invention can be practiced otherwise than specificallydescribed without departing from the scope and spirit of the presentinvention. Thus, embodiments of the present invention should beconsidered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by theembodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A graph database manipulation device, comprising:a processor; and a memory configured to store a graph databasemanipulation application; wherein the graph database manipulationapplication configures the processor to: obtain a graph database,wherein the graph database comprises: a set of nodes; and a set ofedges, wherein an edge in a set of edges defines a relationship betweena first node in the set of nodes and a second node in the set of nodesand an edge comprises: edge weight metadata; and edge display metadata,wherein the edge display metadata describes the spatial relationshipbetween the first node and the second node; determine a source nodewithin the set of nodes; locate a set of related nodes based on thesource node and the set of edges, where a related node in the set ofrelated nodes has an edge in the set of edges indicating a relationshipbetween the related node and the source node; recursively locate a setof sub-related nodes based on the set of related nodes and the set ofedges, where a sub-related node in the set of sub-related nodes has anedge in the set of edges indicating a relationship between a relatednode in the set of related nodes and the sub-related node; generate arepresentation of the set of related nodes from the perspective of thesource node, where the representation of a related node in the subset ofthe set of related nodes is based on the edge weight metadata and theedge display metadata from the edge defining the relationship betweenthe particular related node and the source node; and recursively updatethe generated representation of the set of sub-related nodes from theperspective of the source node and the set of related nodes, where therepresentation of a sub-related node in the set of sub-related nodeswithin the generated representation is recursively based on the edgeweight metadata and the edge display metadata from the edge defining therelationship between the particular sub-related node and its predecessornodes.